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Spartak Moscow
Miloš Říha |captain = Dmitry Upper |farm team = MHC Spartak |Gagarin Cups = |league_titles = |division_titles = }} HC Spartak Moscow (Russian: ХК Спартак Москва, English: Moscow Spartans HC) is a professional ice hockey team based in Moscow, Russia. They play in the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Achievements * Soviet League Championship: (4) 1962, 1967, 1969, 1976 * USSR Cup: (2) 1970, 1971 * Spengler Cup: (5) 1980, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1990 * Ahearne Cup: (3) 1971, 1972, 1973 * Stars Cup: (1) 1975 * Vysshaya Liga Championship: (3) 2000, 2001, 2004 * Soviet League Championship runner-up: (11) 1948, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1991 History , Rauf Bulatov, Valery Yaroslavtsev, Anatoly Platov, Aleksey Makarov, Vyacheslav Starshinov, Boris Mayorov, Anatoly Rzhov. Top row: Igor Kutakov, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Valery Fomenkov, Evgeny Mayorov, Yury Glukhov, Valery Kuzmin, Aleksandr Novokreshchenov (head coach).]] Well known for it's football (soccer) team, the Spartak Moscow Sports Club established an ice hockey team in 1946. In its glory years, the team won four times the Soviet Championship and five times the Spengler Cup. In recent years however, the financial state of the team has steadily worsened since early 2006. A russian business man who was a huge fan of the team, Vadim Melkov, volunteered to find a suitable sponsorship for the team, in the hope to help it stay afloat. He managed to come in agreement with the Government of Moscow after negotiations - the government had agreed to cover all of the debts of the team. Unfortunately, Melkov died in a plane crash on July 9 2006, which delivered another blow to the Spartak management, as all of the deals negotiated by Melkov were cancelled with his death. After a month of efforts to improve the financial situation of the team, to no avail, it was decided that the team would be disbanded for the 2006-07 Russian Superleague season. The team returned in 2007 and joined the Kontinental Hockey League in 2008. Kontinental Hockey League Spartak's debuts in the KHL tasted sweetly in the mouth of the fans. With the help of quality Slovak imports such as Branko Radivojevic and Stefan Ruzicka, who finished respectively first and second top scorers, Spartak not only reached the playoffs but went as far as eliminating SKA St. Petersburg to reach its first quarter-finals in 11 years. LDS Sokolniki was full and Spartak's football team even asked for a training session to be delayed so that they can watch the hockey section's playoffs game. Among the other players who shone were Maxim Rybin and the two German imports, goaltender Dimitrij Kotschnew and right winger Eduard Lewandowski. Also shone Kirill Kabanov, who at 16 years and four months old made his pro debuts and did nicely. Considered by many as the best player to come out of Spartak's system since Ilya Kovalchuk, Kabanov suffered from a concussion following a hard checking by Vitali Vishnevski in the quarterfinals against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Notable Spartak alumni * Nikolai Borshevsky * Pavel Bure * Ilya Kovalchuk * Daniil Markov * Vitali Prokhorov * Alexander Selivanov * Vyacheslav Starshinov External links * Spartak's website (in Russian) * Spartak's fanclub Category:Russian ice hockey teams Category:Established in 1946 Category:Soviet League team Category:Russian Superleague team Category:Vysshaya Liga team Category:Kontinental Hockey League teams